Being stoned almost to death is not the hindrance to Paul's mission you might think.
Bible Study Ideas and Commentary for Acts 14:11-23
Paul has to change his approach when he enters a town almost entirely filled with Gentile pagans, and he barely succeeds in convincing the people he isn't Zeus. That gives the Jews time to catch up with Paul and use his claim to mortality as a reason to kill him. They fail, Paul continues the work, and he establishes churches in all of the places they have visited.
“The gods have come down to us in human form!” (14:11)
Getting Started: Things to Think About
Not as Easy as You Thought
I always enjoy the story/video about the person who finds out just how hard something is to do. This particular video is of the classic "pro such-and-such tries another sport" genre, and you can find countless videos like it. (I hope I didn't miss any language in the video; it seemed perfectly benign.)
What's your experience? I'm going back a few years for my story. When my son was still a preteen, he got a video game that looked pretty cool, and he was pretty good at it. One night, I fired it up, and I was utterly incapable of accomplishing anything. I was absolutely incompetent.
I'm sure you've had a similar experience. Of course, the next step is to project this into church. Have you ever filled in for somebody thinking, "How hard can it be?" only to find out that it was in fact much harder than you expected? I have heard sentiments like that about leading children's church, leading a choir, leading a business meeting, and so on. It's not that the work was impossible -- just harder than you might have appreciated.
That brings me to my focus topic -- I hope you'll have an opportunity to bring this up sometime during your discussion -- church planters in America. A lot of us rightly appreciate how difficult it is to be a missionary overseas, but we might not have the same appreciation for planting a church right here in America. I don't think I'll forget this short 2019 article
It starts with this paragraph:
Planting a church in Boston is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s cold. It’s expensive. And people don’t want us here. It’s like we’ve started a business that offers a product everyone needs but no one wants.
In our church office, Kathy Hendrix has a prayer calendar from the North American Mission Board highlighting weekly prayer requests from church planters and other stateside missionaries. You can read it online --
How many of those families have young children! I pray earnestly for them every time I see that calendar.
In this week's passage, opposition to Paul's church planting efforts in a city were so fierce that people actually attempted to kill him. Did that stop Paul or dissuade him in any way? Of course not. He became all the more committed to the task.
If anything comes out of this week's lesson, I hope it's a renewed desire to pray for our church-planting-missionaries and their families, and also to support the leaders in our churches, of whatever ministry. God's work isn't easy.
The Struggle and the Reward
Along with that idea comes the truism -- "it's only rewarding if it's hard". The harder you've worked to accomplish something, the sweeter the finished product. I know that's true in my life. I did some work on the outside of my house the week around Labor Day when it was abnormally hot in the evenings. I was really proud of the work when it was done. And in general, when I have worked really hard on something, I am much more appreciative of it.
What are your favorite "hard-fought victories" in your life? Something you trained really hard for? Something you put many hours into?
For Paul, the "struggle" was overcoming the obstacles in sharing the gospel and planting a church in these communities. And yes, when Paul felt like the church members were getting petty, he could remind them of this. (My wife occasionally says to our son, "I was in labor with you for 27 hours.") But mostly, the blood, sweat and tears Paul put into those people made him care about them all the more. I guess we might call it the "proof" of his love for them. For example, here's something he wrote to a church he planted on his second missionary journey:
17 But as for us, brothers and sisters, after we were forced to leave you for a short time (in person, not in heart), we greatly desired and made every effort to return and see you face to face. 18 So we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For who is our hope or joy or crown of boasting in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 Indeed you are our glory and joy! (1 Thess 2)
The point/transition for this topic would be something like "when things get hard in church, that's all the more reason to dig in, for the spiritual rewards will be so much the sweeter".
Telling Somebody They Might Be Wrong
A totally different topic would be along the lines of "how hard is it to tell somebody they are wrong about something?" And in this, I'm talking about a long-held belief or a deep-rooted belief (not "hey, you got their name wrong"). That can be hard, and it doesn't often go well.
This is only exacerbated during a presidential cycle (as you know). What are some political or social you've tried to make that fall on deaf ears? Tread lightly, of course, because I wouldn't be surprised if some of those discussions have taken place with people in your group!
Here's the big illustration I would use. Last week, Lifeway Research reported the results of a Gallup poll, and it's a doozy.
Seriously -- that is the finding of the survey:
As Americans are growing increasingly progressive in areas of morality, they also think the country’s moral values are worsening.
More people than ever have favorable opinions of abortion, suicide, and polygamy. Also, 81% of respondents think that America is going to wrong way morally. Those two statistics do not add up.
But have you tried to tell a person with those progressive views that their views might be part of the problem? And that, of course, begs the next step in this topic:
Telling Somebody They Might Be Wrong ... About Religion
Religion and politics, the two topics to avoid at all costs, right? Paul is thrown into a fierce confrontation about both. He has to tell a town that their religious inclinations are wrong -- but at the same time, their entire society has been built around those religious structures. To say that he had a tough task would be a ridiculous understatement. And don't forget, some people tried to kill him for it!
But here's where you want to take this topic at its end: just because a conversation is going to be hard doesn't mean that you are allowed to avoid it forever. As some of you know (painfully), every life has a span. You don't have an indefinite future to keep putting off difficult actions. But don't forget the previous topic -- the harder something is, the sweeter the reward. Think of this from the perspective of how wonderful it will be when you and that person are sitting together in heaven at the wedding supper of the Lamb in the presence of Jesus. I promise you it will be worth it.
Where We Are in Acts
We are still on the first missionary journey. Last week, we saw Paul get kicked out of Antioch by the jealous Jews.
From there, Paul and Barnabas traveled 90 miles to Iconium where they had great success sharing the gospel with Jews and Greeks alike. In fact, the town was divided about them (doesn't mean 50/50)! This time, the opposition was not petty jealousy but sincere disagreement with their gospel. The Jewish opposition rallied enough support to chase Paul out.
They traveled south to Lystra and Derbe, where this week's passage picks up. This time, the opposition came from people who started to worship Paul and Barnabas as gods! And when Paul rebuked them for that silliness, the Jewish opposition used that to turn the crowd against them and stone Paul (seemingly to death)!
Rather than dying, Paul just went to the next city to preach some more. And then, he and Barnabas went back through all of the same places (i.e., the same places that had just attempted to kill Paul on multiple occasions) to encourage the new believers and strengthen their churches.
Eventually, they return to Syrian Antioch where the church rejoices with them in the number of believers and churches that now exist. The fact that these churches are more Gentile than Jewish sets up next week's big council.
This Week's Big Idea: Statistics on Religion
It would probably be hard to imagine Paul's experience where we live in Georgia. After all, our state looks like this:
Georgia self-reports as 79% Christian (38% evangelical). We are 1% Jewish, <1% Muslim, <1% Buddhist, <1% Hindu, 1% New Age. We have far more atheists than pagans or wiccans.
But there are some 1200 distinct religious groups in the US, many of which are very small and teach some version of a vaguely Eastern view of the soul and morality (like the Mindrolling Foundation). We have Satanists. We have groups that worship nonexistent aliens. We have groups that satirize religions so heavily that they're created new religions. We have religions that are dying out (The Last Shakers? | Commonweal Magazine). We have religions loosely based on Star Wars and Star Trek.
In other words, while you might not expect someone to worship you as Zeus like they did Paul, you had better expect to be confronted with religious beliefs that utterly confound you. In those moments, don't try to be clever. Pray for the Spirit's guidance.
Bonus Big Idea: The Greek Pantheon
Of course, nothing [*nothing*] we have today rivals the ancient Greek religions in their complexity and wackiness. (This introduction (ha!) to the pantheon is many many pages long.) The most I care to worry about is the "Olympians" (the 12 chief deities):
Aphrodite -- the goddess of love and beauty (Venus)
Apollo -- a catch-all god of civilization (Helios)
Athena -- the goddess of reason and noble war (Minerva)
Artemis -- the goddess of the hunt (Diana)
Ares -- the god of bloodlust (Mars)
Demeter -- the goddess of agriculture (Demeter)
Dionysus -- the god of drinking and sacrifice (~Bacchus)
Hades -- the god of the dead
Hera -- the queen goddess (Juno)
Hermes -- the god of livestock and deception (Mercury)
Poseidon -- the god of the sea (Neptune)
Zeus -- the king god of the weather (Jupiter)
The names in parentheses are the Roman counterparts. Their origins and responsibilities are mind-numbing.
Anyway, Hermes is interesting is that Homer (The Odyssey) gave him the job of Zeus's messenger, and that stuck (even though that wasn't his job before).
My experience in trying to learn about the Greek and Roman gods is that beliefs changed from decade to decade and region to region, and it was all made up anyway, so don't lose too much sleep over it. Please.
Part 1: Paul the Miracle-Worker (Acts 14:11-13)
8 In Lystra a man was sitting who was without strength in his feet, had never walked, and had been lame from birth. 9 He listened as Paul spoke. After looking directly at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet!” And he jumped up and began to walk around.
11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the town, brought bulls and wreaths to the gates because he intended, with the crowds, to offer sacrifice.
I'm going to include from verse 8 so you have the clear and simple context.
You might wonder, like me, why this hasn't happened before. After all, wouldn't our initial reaction to seeing a miracle like that be to label the actor as a miracle-worker? But to this point, most of the miracles performed in the Bible had been in a Jewish setting. The Jews had a foundational understanding of miracles as coming from God in opposition to the forces of evil in the world (read: the parting of the Red Sea, etc.). They understood miracle-working prophets as spokesmen of God, not gods themselves.
Not so the Gentiles -- like the people living in Asia Minor. (And Lystra in particular -- there is no record of a synagogue there.) The page I got the Olympian list from says this about the gods:
Cruel and fickle, passionate and vindictive, jealous and insecure, petty and insane: the inhabitants of Mount Olympus represent an attempt by the ancient Greeks to explain the chaos of the universe through human nature.
Greeks (and Romans) fully expected their gods to show up on earth to have sex with hot women, mess with people, and throw temper tantrums. But more than anything, Greeks believed that their gods needed people to worship them out of insecurity, so they were always on the lookout for some miracle they believed designed to point them to catch up on their worship.
That's pretty much what was happening here.
Your Lifeway material says that the people saw Barnabas as the strong-silent type and made him their chief god. I think it's because they had a temple to Zeus in town, so what other god would visit them?
The priest of Zeus was ready to go. Offering bulls in sacrifice was no, well, small sacrifice. They were valuable creatures. This town was serious about their Zeus worship.
The people in Paul's day looked to their own religious beliefs to explain away the miracle God performed through Paul. What do people do today to explain away miracles?
Aside: Lystra
We really don't know much about Lystra, but we know it was the home of a very important resident: Timothy! (Acts 16:1) This would mean that Timothy's first experience with Paul probably ended with Paul being stoned (seemingly to death). While I would think that would be traumatizing, it also clearly brought Timothy into a situation he was not overwhelmed by. From the very beginning, he was aware of the risks and the cost of being around Paul.
I earlier said that there is no history of a synagogue in Lystra. So how were Timothy's mother and grandmother associated with Judaism (they taught Timothy the Old Testament)? Remember that a synagogue requires ten men. This could suggest a very small number of Jews in Lystra. I imagine this further prepared Timothy for the hardships of being a lone Christian in a sea of paganism.
Part 2: Paul, the Freaked-Out (Acts 14:14-18)
14 The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their robes when they heard this and rushed into the crowd, shouting, 15 “People! Why are you doing these things? We are people also, just like you, and we are proclaiming good news to you, that you turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to go their own way, 17 although he did not leave himself without a witness, since he did what is good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.” 18 Even though they said these things, they barely stopped the crowds from sacrificing to them.
This is pretty much a worst-case scenario for Paul. Anything he could say in those moments would be a strong rebuke of the people -- the very people he was trying to evangelize. Nothing says "I care about you" quite like "stop you fools".
If you read Paul's words carefully, they are absolutely true, gracious, and God-honoring. But he says two things that stood out to the crowd:
we're just ordinary men
your religious practices are worthless
Paul's Jewish opponents will twist those words into a death sentence.
[Two other things to note: Luke calls both Paul and Barnabas "apostles". If we think of that term in terms of "one who is sent", it makes complete sense. In the future, the word "missionary" will come to replace this use of apostle. Second, note that Paul does not refer to the Old Testament at all. The entire audience is basically pagan.]
Paul intended those words as an explanation for why the people had their own pantheon and why they were just now hearing about Jesus. And frankly, it's powerful enough that we could use it today in talking to any person anywhere in the world.
God's careful sovereignty over all aspects of creation is undeniable.
God's provision of life and sustenance the world over is the people's source of hope and joy. (The very air we breathe is a gift from God.)
It would be natural for a person to explain nature through divinities.
When a person is ready, God sends them a messenger of the truth about the One True God so they will put aside their self-made superstitions.
In my experience, the hardest question any evangelist can answer is, "Why am I just now hearing about this? What about my [family member] who recently died?" Essentially, what Paul is saying to that is, "Let's worry about you and your response to the offer of salvation in Jesus Christ."
And as you would imagine, some people will always reject that.
Part 3: Paul the Target (Acts 14:19-20)
19 Some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and when they won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. 20 After the disciples gathered around him, he got up and went into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
Here's my "get a life, y'all" reaction moment. So, Jews who hated Paul in Antioch and Iconium have actually followed him to Lystra. That's probably a full week of travel one way. Don't they have jobs? Don't they have lives?
What's a time you have wondered why such-and-such person put so much time and energy into a personal smear campaign?
Lesson: don't be surprised by the depth of someone's commitment to a personal vendetta.
Paul and Barnabas have convinced the people that they are mortal and that they do not serve or represent Zeus. The Jews easily twist this into a "you'd better kill them". This will happen throughout Paul's ministry (and, well, ever since), as people who worship a false god oppose Paul for denying that false god.
"Stoning" means that the people grabbed rocks and pounded Paul with them until they assumed he was dead. It was a relatively common method of execution. The wording suggests that the Jews were the ones doing the stoning, meaning they finally completed their quest to rid the world of Paul. This does not absolve the Zeus worshipers of responsibility or participation.
[Note: this passage is one of the big reasons why I have been saying "Paul" and not "Paul and Barnabas". By this point in the journey, the external focus was mainly on Paul.]
I'm not saying that the Jews were discount murderers, but it's hard to understand how they thought Paul was dead when he was not. A thing I have read more than once is that the disciples were in a prayer ring around Paul, and they prayed for his resurrection. I'm not saying that's not what happened, but Luke doesn't say that. I think it is just as likely -- and just as miraculous -- that Paul was severely wounded ("beaten to within an inch of his life"), and with the same kind of divine healing God gave the lame man in Lystra, God healed Paul. And what do you do when you've been divinely healed? You get up and keep going.
I try to imagine the reaction from the Zeus worshipers who probably saw Paul come back into town. I just don't know what they would think. Clearly, they left Paul alone after that.
The next day, Paul and Barnabas head off to the next town to do this all again.
I am constantly amazed by Paul's commitment and perseverance. When I exit a crisis, my whole body cries out for a break. I want to go and recombobulate somewhere, lick my wounds. What's your response to the end of a crisis?
It's hard for me to say that Paul's actions were entirely based on urgency. They had no deadline for this first missionary journey, no schedule. He could have taken some time "off" without endangering the mission. I don't think he felt the need to. Yes, this could be a function of whatever miraculous healing he experienced (probably is), but it could also be a simple reaction -- he "shook the dirt off his feet" and moved on. His tolerance for trauma is simply different than the rest of us (which might be part of the reason why God chose him). "Well, that happened. Time to move on." I wonder if some trauma lingered among his companions, though.
Part 4: Paul the Church Planter (Acts 14:21-23)
21 After they had preached the gospel in that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” 23 When they had appointed elders for them in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
This is where our respect for Paul kicks into an entirely new gear. Some people love the idea of "breaking new ground" and "impressing the pagans with miracles" and "winning people to Jesus". But Paul wanted to go back and make sure that the people he had reached were encouraged, that the communities he had started were sustaining, and that the work was continuing in a healthy way. He used his own experience -- an experience that the people knew about! -- to lift them up. "You are facing opposition, but so did I! God brought me through it, and He will bring you through it as well."
Now it's time to get amazed. I would love for you to spend some time learning about how the North American Mission Board helps plant churches.
It is a powerful, well-refined process. There are partner churches who pray, send resources, and even send members. NAMB puts potential church planters through a thorough assessment process, an in-depth training process filled with mentoring and coaching. And then for a set length of time, NAMB provides financial support and materials to the church plant. Get familiar with it. (And note that even with all of that support, 1/3 of those church plants don't make it.)
Because these first churches Paul planted had none of that.
Think about it. Every church member was not only a first-generation Christian but a recent convert. There were no seminaries. There were no networks. There was Paul and Barnabas. They spent some of their time in town evangelizing, and they spent every other waking moment teaching the new Christians everything they could about Jesus and His message. Maybe they could stay for a few weeks, maybe a few days.
But these new churches had the Spirit of God and a true sense of urgency. Everyone in the church was committed. What more do you need?
Well, clearly-defined leadership is helpful. Paul wrote to the Ephesians,
11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. (Eph 4)
He probably developed that understanding from his experience in these first churches. He saw how God worked. He saw how God clearly gifted certain church members for spiritual and administrative leadership in these congregations. So when Luke says that Paul "appointed elders", it basically means that he identified the people God had gifted with the skills and gifts for that kind of church leadership.
[Note that the later-developed office of bishop took what Paul did to an unwarranted extreme. "Bishops" claim to have the authority to appoint and move pastors anywhere in their jurisdiction. But what Paul did is recognize the people already in the church whom God had given gifts of church leadership to. And, if we're honest, he was Paul.]
Aside: Elder
That begs the very important question: what's an elder? To this point, Luke has used the word "elder" in the context of Jewish leadership. In the Old Testament, "elders" were not appointed but recognized by their community for their wisdom and godliness. It was more informal. As time went on, a person's wealth or influence played a role in his being considered an elder.
By the New Testament, "elders" were associated with the Sanhedrin or synagogue leadership. It's very possible that Christian "elders" were modeled after the original "Jewish elder", but remember that being an elder was informal. In these churches, Paul appointed elders, so that's a big difference.
The word for "elder" is presbyteros (which is obviously where "Presbyterians" get their name and their practice of having elders that make all the decisions). Luke uses it to describe church leaders 10 times in Acts; the first time is 11:30, describing the leaders of the Jerusalem church. Our passage, 11:23, is the first time the term is used in the way we think of today. In other words, these were the very first "elders" who didn't know Jesus-in-the-flesh.
I believe very strongly that the New Testament uses the terms "elder" and "pastor" and "bishop" interchangeably, especially as the job description developed over time.
And Luke also says that Paul appointed multiple elders for each church. From context, and from Paul's later letters, we can assume that Paul told these men were to
teach
shepherd (protect)
hold accountable
keep the church organized
If I feel ill-qualified for this task today (and I have multiple seminary degrees, 25 years of experience, and thousands of church leaders I can call on for support just in the state of Georgia), I can only imagine what those first elders must have felt.
Paul directed those first elders to the only "qualification" they would ever need: a pipeline to the power of the Holy Spirit. I've already gone too long, so you can answer for yourself, "What is the value of fasting for prayer?" And Paul makes it very clear to these men that God Almighty is a far better protector and provider than he could ever be. It reminds me a little of Jesus telling the disciples that it was good for Him to leave because then they would rely on the Holy Spirit.
Closing Thoughts: Praying for Church Planters
As I've said a few times, I think this lesson is a wonderful time to make your group aware of church planters and their needs. I submit to you this wonderful resource:
Church planters send in regular requests to this page. Here are some samples.
"Please pray our people would stand firmly in the faith and that provision for them would be granted. Pray there would be a space in which to meet that we will not outgrow. We’re also praying for the right church/school partnership."
"Please pray the new believers at our church will hold onto their faith. Most of them are immigrants to the U.S. Pray we will be faithful in raising our kids in Christ. They need Christ in their lives."
"Pray for God’s wisdom for the development of leaders because the church is growing faster than we have leaders. Pray God will provide a van so we can transport people to the church. We will soon outgrow the location where we are now, and we will need a new place. We have a large number of children in the church whose parents don’t have enough resources for school. Pray God will provide a larger place and resources to help the parents in our church."
"Pray God will bring 75 people to our church by the end of the year. Pray He will raise up leaders among the new believers and that He will send musicians for our worship band."
Not all that different from the needs of those first elders, if you think about it. (Swap out "electric guitar" for some first century cultural implement, and you get the picture.)
Have your group pray for our church planters. And then, pray for the leadership of your church to the same end. We're all on this same glorious team of flawed players, the perfect playbook, and the best coach. And we need to "keep matriculating the ball down the field" as the football announcer might say.
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